WE HAVE A PROJECTED TRAVEL TIME!

Our caseworker just let us know that the authentification process of our dossier is almost finished and that we can expect to travel by the end of December!  Now, we know that anything can happen in the adoption process (and setbacks seem to be the norm for most people's adoption stories) but it was still one of the most exciting emails we've received yet.

It's crazy to imagine that, just maybe, Christmas will look completely different this year than it did last year.  In fact, adoption wasn't even a thought in our mind last Christmas!  For as long as the adoption process can take, thinking about where we were as a family a year ago has certainly made us feel like parts of it are moving relatively quickly!

So what are we doing while we wait?  More adoption education. 

We had to complete a 12-hour international adoption education program for our home study in the spring.  In addition to that, our adoption agency requires both Brad and I to read three books from a required reading list and write a short book report on each.  We've started book number one, The Connected Child by Karyn Purvis, David Cross, and Wendy Sunshine (oh my goodness, best last name ever), and I'm finding it very eye-opening both for our future adopted child and for our biological children now.  I've learned more in the last six months about adoption, China, and children who have experienced childhood trauma then I ever anticipated and yet I still have so much to learn.

While all the paperwork and education can be a lot (read: a-part-time-job's-worth-of-time), if we weren't required to do each step, we would be going into adoption completely blind.  Even with all we are required to do, I know we won't truly know what we're getting ourselves into until he/she is home but I can't imagine welcoming a child into our family with a background of hurt (no matter how deep) and not having had anyone give us tools to help.  Being 'good parents' to our biological children won't be enough.  We need to learn what it means to love and support and care for a child that wasn't born into a loving, supporting, and caring home.  And that will be different than our previous 7 years of parenting.

Alongside our required reading, we're continuing to apply for as many grants as we can.  We should be hearing back from some over the next two months.  It can be hard to be patient but the Lord is reminding us to trust in His timing, His faithfulness, and His provision.

It's been six months since we started and one thing hasn't changed - we can only do things one day at a time.

Excited for the future but thankful for the process,
Brooke